Two wheel agricultural feed bagger

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for loading feed stock into agricultural bags of the type having a housing with a hopper, a passageway communicating with the hopper and a a rotor drivingly located in the passageway for advancing feed stock from the hopper into the bags. A screw conveyor is mounted within the hopper and directs stock oppositely along the length of the screw conveyor to eliminate mounding of the feed stock in the hopper. An insert is provided on a tapered wall of the hopper to divert the line of the flow of stock toward the rotational axis of the press rotor and is positioned to direct stock approximately to the screw conveyor and press rotor to prevent an accumulation of dormant stock in the vicinity of the rotor. The invention also comprehends the provision of a direct gear drive between the power take-off of a driving vehicle and the rotor.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application is a continuation of Ser. No. 664,948 filed Oct.24, 1984, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No.597,107 filed Apr. 2, 1984 and entitled "Two Wheel Agricultural FeedBagger", now abandoned.

DESCRIPTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates to an apparatus for loading agricultural feedstock into expansible storage receptacles or agricultural bags and moreparticularly to an improved apparatus for feeding stock evenly to apress rotor for efficient filling of the receptacles or agriculturalbags.

2. Background of the Invention

Horizontally expansible silage storage bags have become known and usedas an alternative to permanent storage structures, such as barns orsilos. Such storage bags are desirable from an economical standpoint andare advantageous in that they are easily loaded and the stored materialis readily accessible.

A currently existing apparatus for loading such receptacles is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,069 to Eggenmuller et al wherein an apparatus forbagging silage is shown. A loading channel supports an unfilled bag andguides the silage from a press roll having spirally located teeth aboutthe outer periphery of the roll. Feed stock is fed into a hopper whereit is forced by a reciprocating member into the press roll whose teethforce the feed stock into the storage bag. A gate is held against theclosed end of the storage bag with cables connected therefrom to a drumon the apparatus, which drum has a brake arrangement applying tension tothe cables so that as the storage bag is filled the brake will releasethe cable and the apparatus will move away from the gate.

A modification of the Eggenmuller et al '068 patent is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,337,805 to Johnson et al wherein substantially the sameapparatus is provided except that the pass roll has randomly locatedgroups of teeth, each group having four teeth, about the peripherythereof for forcing the feed stock into a truncated triangular tunnel(as sectioned transverse to the direction of movement of the feed stock)and then into the storage bag. A feeder roll is rotated in the bottom ofa feed hopper to advance the feed stock into the press roll. A discbrake arrangement is used to add the resistance to the cable on the drumso as to pay out the cable as the storage bag is filled. A sprocketdrive arrangement is employed to drive both the feeder roll and thepress roll.

In both of the prior art apparatus described above the press roll ismounted in bearings on opposite sides of the housing and, due to thenature of the wear on the parts of the press roll, must be frequentlyreplaced which necessitates almost completely disassembling theapparatus to remove and replace the press roll. The spirally locatedsingle teeth of Eggenmuller '068 and the randomly located groups ofteeth of Johnson et al both create unusually heavy loads on the driveapparatus for the feed roller and must be operated at relatively lowspeeds to avoid clogging or jamming thereof. Eggenmuller et al '068requires a reciprocating feeder in the hopper where Johnson et al '805requires a power driven feeder roll to feed the material from the hopperinto the feed roller. In both cases the added movable parts of thereciprocating member or of the feeder roll takes power to operate andprovides additional apparatus for potential failure and service. In bothprior devices the material had to be fed evenly across the full width ofthe apparatus otherwise the bag was filled unevenly causing pockets andspoilage.

Both Eggenmuller et al '068 and Johnson et al '805 require brakeoperating cables connected to a gate at the closed end of the bag sothat when the braking force is exceeded by the pressed material in thebag, the apparatus will move relative to the gate on the end of the bag.The cables frequently rub the sides of the bag causing bag punctures. Itis difficult to rewind the cable in a single layer on the drum. The bagmust be kept absolutely straight or the cable will cut into the curvedside of the bag and puncture the bag.

Another problem that has plagued the art is the nonuniform delivery offeed stock from a hopper to a press rotor. The consistency of the stockmay vary with atmospheric conditions. In cool whether, stock with a highmoisture content has a tendency to accumulate in a mound and notdistribute evenly over the full extent of the press rotor. Under theless densely piled portions of the mounds insufficient head is developedto cause the stock to be effectively driven by the rotor into thereceptacle or bag. Instead, much of the stock stagnates, is chewed upand compacts in the feeding mechanism and forms an obstructing ledgewhich interferes with the desired uniform passage of stock into thereceptacle or bag.

The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the aboveenumerated problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the improvements of the present invention, anapparatus is provided having a housing mounted on a chassis supported ontwo wheels. The housing includes a hopper, a passageway and a tunnel.The hopper receiving feed stock and advancing it directly into a pressrotor in the passageway with the rotor having pairs of spaced teethabout the periphery thereof. Clean out bars extend from the housing intothe open area between the spaced teeth to strip the feed stock from theteeth as the feed stock is forced through the more rectangularly (incross-section) shaped tunnel into the collapsible storage bag carried bya molding channel portion of the tunnel.

A power source drives the rotor at relatively high speeds. Portions ofthe drive are immersed in oil for cooling and lubrication. Flanges areprovided on the rotor within the confines of the passageway of thehousing so that the toothed portion of the rotor can be removed andreplaced or repaired without major disassembly of the housing. Thetunnel is specially shaped and includes side and back walls divergingfrom the passageway whereby a relatively short rotor with the pairs ofteeth and driven at a relatively high speed expands the feed stock inall directions as it leaves the rotor area. The feed stock is advancedrapidly through the shaped and extended tunnel for guiding and packingthe feed stock into the bag with minimal air pockets in the feed stock.

Brakes are provided on the wheels and are set at a predetermined loadingso that as the bag is filled, the brake force is overcome and theapparatus is moved forward relative to the bag. Appropriate conveyingapparatus is provided for the hopper to convey material directly intothe hopper.

The improved apparatus runs at a higher rate of speed so as to fill thebag more rapidly and without air pockets. The apparatus has a readilyreplaceable rotor to reduce down time for substituting different rotors,for service and for repair of the rotor. The apparatus eliminates thecable drum and cables for applying a load to the material in the bagthereby eliminating the problem of the cable puncturing the bag duringfilling. The teeth on the rotor are in pairs whereby the rotor can berun faster without clogging and without overloading of the drive,resulting in a lower operating cost. The loaded bag has substantially noair pockets thereby reducing spoilage while storing more feed stock ineach bag.

Another aspect of the invention is the provision of a direct gear drivebetween the power take-off on the driving vehicle and the rotary tubeupon which the teeth are mounted. This eliminates chains thatpotentially weaken the linkage or may require ongoing adjustment.

A further aspect of the invention is the inclusion of structure toprevent buildup of dormant stock in the vicinity of the press rotor anddevelop uniform feeding of the stock to the press rotor for evendelivery to the receptacle or bag. A conveyor screw in a bottom portionof the hopper directs stock axially oppositely from the center of therotary tube. The action of the conveyor screw collapses the stock moundsfrom underneath and causes the stock to settle evenly along thelengthwise extent of the press rotor.

In one known configuration for the hopper, a rear wall is sloped andtangent to a curved bottom wall which conforms about the diameter of theteeth on the press rotor. The line of the stock following the contour ofthe back wall normally does not intersect the outer diameter traced bythe rotor teeth. The invention contemplates either the provision of aninsert in the aforementioned structure or shaping of the main wall sothat the line of the main, rear wall, above the rotor, if extended,closely approaches or intersects the path of the moving rotor teeth. Asa result the stock moves directly against the rotor and does not come torest in operation.

The amount of stagnant feed stock and ledge formation is minimized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bag loading apparatus of the presentinvention with an agricultural bag in operative position thereon;

FIG. 2 is a broken away perspective view of a wheel brake arrangementfor use on the bag loading apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged broken away perspective view of a portion of thehopper and passageway of the housing with an improved rotor in thepassageway;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one end of the rotor showing the flangeconnection between the rotor and the mounting shaft;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 5--5 ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side partial cross-sectional view of the bag loadingapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view showing therelationship between the rotor and the clean out bars;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the front portion of the housing of theapparatus;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged broken away partial view of the bag mountingmechanism as mounted on the housing;

FIG. 10 is a broken away plan view of the bag loading apparatus of FIG.1;

FIG. 11 is a partial broken away side perspective view of the actuatingcable for the feed stock conveyor;

FIG. 12 is a broken away cross sectional view of the pivot for the feedstock conveyor as mounted to the frame of the housing;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an alternative form of bag loadingapparatus according to the present invention with an agricultural bag inoperative position thereon;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged, partial overhead view of a drive connectionbetween a power take-off on a drawing vehicle and the rotor;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged, partial, side elevation view of the driveconnection of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a broken away plan view of the bag loading apparatus of FIG.13 showing a stock conveyor screw; and

FIG. 17 is an enlarged, sectional view of the hopper and rotor alongline 17--17 of FIG. 16 and showing the relationship between a hopperwall modifying insert, the conveyor screw and toothed rotor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular FIG. 1, a feed stockcompacting and loading apparatus 20 is shown connected to a partiallyfilled silage receptacle or bag 22 supported at one end by a back stop24 staked and supported by props on the ground 26. The backstop may bein the form of a blank wall or the end of another bag 22. A tractor,only one wheel 28 of which is shown, is connected through a tongue 29and power take-off 30 to the compacting apparatus 20. The power take-off30 serves to drive a rotor 32 while the tongue 29 connects the apparatusto the tractor for use in moving the apparatus or for use intransmitting movement of the apparatus to the tractor. Feed stock suchas corn, hay, alfalfa, and the like is fed to a self-contained conveyor34 which, in the illustrated form, feeds the feed stock from the side ofthe apparatus in to a hopper 36, which hopper is part of a housing 40 ofthe compacting apparatus 20.

Referring more in detail to the conveying apparatus 20, the apparatuscomprises a housing 40 affixed on a frame or chassis 42, which issupported by wheels 46 mounted on stub axles 44 extending sidewardlyfrom the opposite sides of said frame. Wheel brakes 48 are operativelyassociated with each wheel and as shown in FIG. 2, the brakes areconnected for actuation through conduits 50 connected to a hydraulicpump 52 mounted on the frame adjacent one of the two wheels. In FIG. 1the pump 52 is mounted to the frame just inside the wheel 46 on theright side of the apparatus. A handle 54 is pivotally mounted on thehydraulic pump 52 which when actuated, loads the brakes to apredetermined setting as determined by a reading on the gauge 56connected to the hydraulic pump.

The housing 40 is comprised of the hopper 36 connected to a passageway58 which opens into a tunnel 60, all supported on the chassis or frame42. The hopper 36 has a front wall 64 connected to a cross beam 66 onthe frame 42, has side walls 68 and 70 and a rear wall 72. The rear wallis sloped and is tangent to the curved bottom wall 74 of the passageway58. As can be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bottom wall 74 curves slightlyupwardly forward of the axis of the rotor and terminates at the entranceto the tunnel 60 which results in a short fall off from the bottom wall74 of the passageway to the bottom wall of the tunnel 60. The side walls68,70 close the ends of the hopper and the ends of the passageway and,in the passageway (FIG. 3), have reinforcing bearing plates 76 affixedthereto with an aperture 78 therethrough through which a stub shaft 80and a bearing sleeve 82 extend (FIG. 5). The bearing sleeve 82 on eachend of the rotor is positioned around the shaft 80 and is welded to aflange 84 disposed on the inside of the each wall 68,70, respectively,of the passageway 58. The stub shaft 80 on the left end of thepassageway extends freely through the bearing plate 76 and wall 68 andin the present form has no additional elements affixed thereto. The stubshaft 80 on the right side of the passageway extends through the bearingplate 76 and wall 70 and has a sprocket wheel 86 rigidly attachedthereto exterior of the passageway 58. Between the flanges 84 is affixeda tube 88 of the rotor 32 with the tube having flanges 90 welded oneither end thereof. Bolts and nuts 92 pass through lugs on the flanges84 and 90 for affixing the rotor 32 to the stub shafts 80. The hopper isconstructed to feed the feed stock by gravity directly into thepassageway 58 and rotor.

Affixed around the periphery of the tube 88 are a plurality of pairs 92of knives or teeth 96 which teeth have a concave surface on the trailingedge thereof and a convex surface on the leading edge thereof. Eachtooth 96 of a pair of teeth is spaced from the other tooth 96 of thepair a preset amount. In the illustrated form of the invention, the pair96 of teeth on one side of the tube 88 are diametrically opposite asimilar pair of teeth on the opposite side of the tube. It is to beunderstood that the teeth do not have to be diametrically opposite eachother, although there is some advantage thereto. One tooth 96 of onepair 92 of teeth lies in a plane transverse to the axis of the tube andis spaced from the plane of the adjacent but circumferentially displacedtooth of the next axially located pair of teeth by an amount equal tothe spacing between the two teeth of each pair of teeth. The teeth alllie in planes that are transverse to the axis of the tube and whichplanes are all equally spaced apart along the axis of the tube. Thepairs 92 of teeth are in rows, with the axes of the rows parallel toeach other and parallel to the axis of the rotor. In the illustratedform, there are a total of six rows of pairs of teeth, with the axis ofeach row being spaced approximately 60° from the axis of the adjacentrow so that, as can be seen in FIG. 6 from the end of the rotor, thereare six equally spaced rows of teeth about the periphery of the rotor.As illustrated, there are 30 pairs of teeth equalling 60 teeth on therotor but more or less number of pairs and number of teeth may beprovided depending on the feed stock being stored and the speed andhorsepower of the source of power being used to drive the system. As anexample, the owner may find it necessary to change tractors whilefilling a bag. If he is going to less horsepower, he can install a rotorwith fewer pairs of teeth 96 and resume bagging with minimal loss oftime. Substituting a larger tractor will dictate using a rotor with moreteeth.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, diametrically opposite teeth 96 aresecured as by welding to the shaft 80 side of the flanges 88 with matingteeth 96 secured to the inner sides of the flanges 90 and the tube 88.The result is pairs of teeth spanning the flanges 84,90 with the spacingbetween the teeth of each pair equaling the space between the teeth 96of all other pairs. By having the pairs 92 of teeth 96 on the flanges onthe ends of the rotor 32 eliminates a problem area in the prior artwhere feed stock was not processed by the rotor at the ends of the rotorresulting in bunching up of feed stock and/or less than adequate flow offeed stock resulting in air pockets on the sides of the bag. Inaddition, the prior art devices required more time to fill the bag.

The cross beam 66 of the frame 42 between the hopper 36 and tunnel 60has a plurality of equally spaced apart clean out bars or prongs 100projecting downwardly and slightly rearwardly therefrom into alignmentwith the space between the pairs of knives or teeth 96 on the rotor 32.The bars or prongs 100 are welded to the underside of the box shapedcross beam 66 with a protective plate 102 projecting down over thejunction between the prongs 100 and the cross beam 66 so as to provide aslight overhanging wall between adjacent prongs and to support theprongs in proper alignment between the pairs of teeth. The leading edgeof each bar or prong 100 terminates in closely spaced relation to theouter surface of the tube 88 and is located slightly forward of thefront face of the tube 88. As the rotor 32 rotates, the pairs of teethsweep past the adjacent prongs 100 with a prong extending between eachpair of teeth to sweep the feed stock from the teeth of the rotor. Theplate 102 is in close proximity to the path of the knives or teeth 96 asthey sweep past the plate, helping to clear the feed stock from therotor and to keep it clean. The bars or prongs 100 and plate 102 alignwith the back wall 103 of the tunnel 60 for a purpose to be explainedhereinafter.

The tunnel 60 is made up of an expanding chamber 62, a forming chamber63 and a guide portion 65. The expanding chamber 62 has an upwardlysloping back wall 103 with diverging side walls 104 and 106 connected tothe outlet or mouth 107 of the passageway 58. The back wall 103 forms anangle of approximately 88° with the longitudinal axis of the apparatusand aligns smoothly with the front face of the cross beam 66. The backwall 103 and the side walls 104,106 merge into a short arcuate shapedtop wall 112. A bottom wall 114 is supported on the frame and isattached to the bottom edge of the passageway 58. The respective sideedges of the bottom 114 are shaped gradually into a connection with theside walls 104 and 106. The leading edge 110 of the expanding chamber 62joins into the forming chamber 63 which has side walls 116,118 whichslope gradually upwardly and inwardly as they approach the upperportions of the side walls and form into a dome-shaped top wall 120. Thecross-section of the forming chamber 63 transverse to the direction offlow of the feed stock approaches a rectangle with the short side walls116,118 sloping slightly inwardly and with the top wall bowed slightlyupwardly in the midportion. As best seen in FIG. 8, the forming chamber63 has curved side corners as it merges into a flat bottom wall 121which is in alignment with the bottom wall 114 of the chamber 62.Beginning at points just above the curved corners of the forming chamber63 is a guide portion 65 which extends from the lower reaches of the twoside walls 116,118, and follows the contour of the side walls up throughand over the dome-shaped top wall. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, the guide65 is sloped slightly inwardly toward the axis of the apparatus whichtends to compact the feed stock as the feed stock exits the tunnel 60.The agricultural bag 22 is puckered, pleated or bunched so thatinitially it is relatively short in longitudinal dimension. With thepleating threaded over the outer surfaces of the forming chamber 63 andguide 65 of the tunnel 60. An extension 123 is connected to the rearedge of the outside of the forming chamber 63 to provide added supportfor the full extent of the bunched up bag 22. The rear edge of theagricultural bag is resiliently secured to the tunnel 60 and extension123 by means well known in the art.

Pivotally mounted on spaced lugs 126 extending downwardly from thebottom wall 114 of the tunnel 60 is a support pan 128 which fits belowthe pleats in the bag 22 and supports and retains the bag 22 on thetunnel 60. A crossbar 130 is secured to the forward edge of thesupporting pan 128 with the outer ends thereof extending beyond theedges of the pan 128. An overcenter actuator 131 is pivoted to supportarms 132 attached to the frame 42 on opposite sides of the tunnel 60.Each actuator has a spring 134 connected to the cross bar and connectedthrough a chain 136 to a pivot 138 on an angled handle 139 which handleis pivoted at 140 to the support 132. As can be seen in FIG. 9, when thelever 134 is pivoted forward to the dotted line position, the supportingpan 128 is lowered so that an agricultural bag 22 can be threaded overthe guide 65, shaping portion 63 and extension 123 of the tunnel. Withthe lever 134 pivoted to the solid line rearwardly extending position ofFIG. 9, the spring is in tension and pulls the pan resiliently againstthe lower portion of the pleated bag to resiliently support the bag onthe tunnel 60.

In practice, when a new bag 22 is assembled with the apparatus bythreading the open portion of the bag over the shaping portions 63 ofthe tunnel, the closed end of the bag will be in close proximity to themouth of the guide 65. Pivoting the actuator 131 into the tensioningposition of the spring, will resiliently support the bag on the tunnel.Prior to starting the bag loading operation, a gate 24, which iscomprised of a frame 141 supporting resilient interlaced straps ornetting 142 therebetween, may be staked to the ground using stakes 144,a prop or brace 146 extends into engagement with the top crossbar of thegate and is likewise staked to the ground so as to support the gate inan upright position in close proximity to the closed end of theagricultural bag 22. The bag may be backed by a wall or by the closedend of an already filled bag.

The power take-off 30 from the tractor is connected into a gear box 150mounted on the frame 42 of the housing. The gear box is conventional andhas a gear ratio of 3:1 and drives an output shaft 152 extending fromthe gear box through an appropriate bearing and seal 153 into areservoir 154 mounted on the side wall 70 of the hopper. A sprocket 156is keyed to the outer end of the shaft 152 and drives a chain 158 whichin turn drives the sprocket 86 keyed on the outer end of the stub shaft80 of the rotor 32. A chain guide 162 is mounted intermediate thesprockets 156,86 to control the tension and to increase the drivingcontact between the chains and the sprockets. The reservoir 154 has aninspection and filling panel 164 on the side thereof which permitsaccess to the sprockets and the chain. The level of oil is maintained inthe reservoir sufficient to submerse parts of the sprockets 156,86 andthe chain 158 so as to provide lubrication thereto and to afford adegree of cooling of the parts. The relative size of the sprockets156,86 is such as to provide a further 3:1 gear reduction between theinput shaft 152 and the rotor 32. The effect of the gear box andsprockets is to reduce the speed of the power take-off 30 approximately9:1 in driving the rotor 32 resulting in a speed of approximately 60revolutions per minute when the power take-off runs at 540 rpm. Thespeed of the rotor can be controlled within the range of 40 to 80revolutions per minute. Prior systems reduced the speed from the powertake-off to the rotor so that the rotor was driven at approximately 30revolutions per minute and within the range of 28 to 36 revolutions perminute.

An alternative to the chain and sprocket drive of the prior paragraph isdepicted in FIGS. 13-15. A direct drive is contemplated in those figuresbetween the power take-off 30 on the driving vehicle and the rotaryshaft 88, through an intermediate gear box at 300. A gear housing 302contains a conventional mechanism for transmitting rotation from asplined shaft 304 to a transverse male stub shaft 306. The splined shaft304 is keyed to the power take-off 30 on the driving vehicle. Speedreduction of approximately 9:1 or 10:1 is effected so that the resultingrotor speed is approximately that of the previously described rotoroperated by chain and sprockets. The gear box 300 is mounted on avertical wall 308 associated with the frame 42. Two oppositely openingchannels 310 bound a squared space which closely accepts the gearhousing 302. The housing is adapted to be bolted directly to thechannels 310 for secure placement. Each of the channels comprises a web312 with turned legs 314 and returned free ends 316 for rigidity. Thechannels 310 are secured appropriately, as by welding, to the flat,upright wall 68 to situate the male stub shaft 306 in axial alignmentwith the rotating tube 88.

To establish connection between the shaft 306 and tube 88, plates 318,320, are affixed at the end of the tube 88 adjacent the gear box. Theplate 320 is affixed permanently by welding or the like. The plate 318has an integral collar 322 transverse to its face and is keyed to theshaft 306. The plates 318, 320 are secured to each other by bolts. Thedirect drive between the power take-off 30 and the tube 88 accounts fora positive drive and eliminates chains that might fail or slacken inuse.

Different systems can be employed to feed the feed stock into the hopper36. In the illustrated embodiment, a conveyor 34 is pivotally andslidably attached to the frame 42 and hopper 36 of the apparatus so thatin operating position the flight of the conveyor will convey materialdumped into the input end and move the material up the conveyor and intothe open top of the hopper 36. The conveyor may be driven by a hydraulicmotor powered through hydraulic fluid from the tractor through theconduits 166 extending from the tractor. The frame 167 of the conveyor34 is pivoted on the frame 42 of the apparatus by means of the trunnions168 on the frame 167 and the lugs 170 on the frame 42. A pin 171 passesthrough the aligned openings in the trunnions and lug so that theconveyor may be pivoted from one position to another as required. Theconveying portion of the conveyor is mounted on a structure 172 that canslide in tracks 174 on the frame 167 relative to the hopper of theapparatus. A cable 179 is secured to the frame 42 at 180, passes througha pulley (not shown) on the undersurface of the structure 172 for theconveyor, doubles back and passes around a pulley 182 on the frame 42and traverses a path around a pulley 184 located in the cross beam 66and passes between the hopper 36 and the tunnel 60 with the cablepassing around a drum 185 supported between a pair of supports 186 onthe frame of the apparatus. A crank 188 and latching arrangement areprovided on the drum whereby releasing the latch and turning the crankwill slide the conveyor 34 from a general engaging position into aposition substantially overlapping the hopper with the input end of theconveyor raised off the ground by an amount that will permit easytransport of the apparatus without dragging the conveyor on the ground.

In a typical loading apparatus, the length of the passageway (side toside) is approximately 60" which feeds into the tunnel 60 having theexpanding section 62 expanding the opening to 100" width. The expandingchamber 62 has its back wall rising at an angle of approximately 88°with the longitudinal axis of the apparatus which back wall merges intoa small radius curvature at the top. The dome shaped top is wider andflatter, side to side than prior tunnels that had a tendency to be moretriangular in cross-section (narrow at the top). The forming chambermatches the cross-section of the leading edge of the expanding chamber.The distance from the leading edge of the passageway to the leading edgeof the forming chamber is approximately 24" which when added to the 12"guide 65 makes approximately 36" back to front and with a wider andflatter dome-shaped top produced more uniform compaction of the feedstock and substantially eliminated the lumps and air pockets prevalentin the prior art short rear to front tunnel. The longer tunnel with thesubstantially straight back wall and longer shaping chamber 63 allowsthe feed stock exiting the rotor to fully fill the expanding chamber 62and the shaping chamber 63 throughout the full cross section before itenters the bag. Initially, the tunnel and bag end fill up completelywhereupon pressure from the feed stock forced into the tunnel developsin the tunnel which builds up until the brake force on the wheels 46 isovercome whereupon the loading apparatus is inched rearward. Therearward movement of the loading apparatus causes the tunnel to moverearward of the feed stock that has filled the tunnel and the end of thebag with a new portion of the bag being pulled off the outer surface ofthe tunnel and encasing the shaped and compacted mass of feed stock. Thenew front to rear expanding shaping and guiding portions of the tunnelcontribute substantially to the improved results.

The devices such as made under the Johnson et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,805had a substantially circular rear wall and only about a 6" horizontaltop which did not permit the feed stock to fully compact and fill up thetunnel before it entered the bag. The feed stock had to be uniformly fedinto the beater bars and rotor to get any degree of uniformity to themass of feed stock being forced into the bag. Frequently, air pocketsdeveloped resulting in heat (due to the organic nature of the feedstock) which caused the feed stock to decompose. Absent the air pockets,as now provided by the improved apparatus, reduces or eliminates heatsince there is no source of oxygen to encourage a chemical reaction. Noheat, no Butyric acid formation (spoilage) and no vitamin A loss.

The shorter rotor 32 (60") with the pairs 92 of teeth 96 means that lessfeed stock is grabbed by each pair and moved through the passageway 58.The less material grabbed the less work required to move it. The rotorin the improved apparatus is run faster (70 rpm vs. 30 rpm) and since itis shorter in length (66" vs. 100") it requires less horse power. Theprior art loading apparatus required 70-120 horsepower to drive the 100"rotor at 28 to 36 rpm. The improved apparatus requires on the low sideof 60-100 horsepower to achieve the same loading capacity as the priorart. The lower required horsepower saves fuel and costs. The pairing ofthe teeth or knives 96 works on smaller quantities of material at afaster rate to save power while at the same time providing a betterbagged feed product with less chance of spoilage. The higher speedsreduces component wear and stress considerably thus increasing the lifeof the parts while decreasing maintenance and down time expense. Inpractice it has been found that more or less numbers of pairs of teethcan be provided on the rotor for use with particular types of feedstock. For instance, if the number of pairs of teeth are doubled from 30pairs to 60 pairs the mixing action and capacity is twice what it wasbefore.

With the higher rpm (60 vs. 30), the velocity of the teeth is almosttwice as fast, thus striking the material almost twice as hard. Thegreater impact flattens the material even more which not only enhancesthe compaction but quite probably increases the tonnage forced into abag as the flattened material requires less space.

To enhance compaction and efficiency of operation, modification to theinside of the hopper can be accomplished according to FIGS. 16 and 17.The relationship between the inside of the hopper and the tube 88 withteeth 96 and the prongs 100 is substantially the same as the embodimentpreviously described relative to FIGS. 1-12.

To prevent mounding of the stock between the sides 324, 326 of thehopper, a conveyor screw 328 is incorporated. The conveyor screw 328spans the hopper sides 324,326 and is mounted for rotation about an axisparallel to the axis 330 of the tube 88. The conveyor screw 328comprises a core 332 with peripheral spirals 334 having opposite twistson opposite sides from the longitudinal center of the core. Rotation ofthe screw 328 in the direction of arrow 336 advances stock engaged bythe spirals laterally towards the sides of the hopper. Rotation of thescrew at the bottom of the hopper breaks up the base of any mound thatmay tend to form. A drawing action is established that distributes thestock evenly along the length of the tube between the sides 324, 326 ofthe hopper.

To rotate the screw 328, the screw core 332 is geared to follow therotation of the rotor tube 88. The rotor tube 88 has an extension 338through the hopper side 326 and the core 332 an extension 340 throughthe same side 326. The extensions 338, 340 are fit with sprockets 342,344 respectively and an endless chain surroundingly attached. The sizeof the sprockets 342, 344 is chosen so that the rotational speed of thescrew 328 is greater than that of the rotor tube 88. Other types ofconnection between the rotor tube 88 and screw 328 might be accomplishedconsistent with the invention.

To augment the action of the conveyor screw 328, the hopper wall 72 canbe modified to divert the flow of stock toward the rotor. An insert 346has a substantially flat body 348 conforming with and parallel to theinside surface 350 of the hopper. The body 348 is offset inwardly of thehopper from the wall 72 so that the line of stock movement down the rearof the hopper is closer to the axis 330 of the rotor tube. The tendencyof the stock to build-up on the wall 72, stagnate and be pulverized bythe rotor teeth is diminished.

To attach the insert 346, the upper edge 352 is offset to conform to avertical wall 354 at the upper portion of the hopper. The offset upperedge is suitably secured, as by welding. At the bottom of the body 348,the insert is offset vertically downward at 356 and the free end 358return bent to seat flushly on the inside hopper surface 350. A ledge362 is defined at the juncture of the offset wall 356 and insert body348. The bottom free end 358 of the insert is secured appropriately sothat the insert is held firmly in place. It should be noted that whilean insert is disclosed to modify a conventional hopper, the wall of thehopper might be manufactured with this contour without provision for aninsert.

FIG. 17 shows the relationship of the conveyor screw 328, the rotor tube88 and the insert 346. The rotational axis 360 of the conveyor screw 328is substantially in the plane of the body 348 of the insert and beneaththe rotational axis 330 of the rotor tube 88. The conveyor screw 328intercepts stock tending to fall off the ledge 362 defined at thejuncture between the body 348 and the offset 346 on the insert. Theinsert deflects the stock close to the rotor teeth and establishes apassage that tends to funnel the stock toward the screw conveyor 328,which effects an even lateral distribution of stock over the rotor. Theinsert and screw conveyor act cooperatively to feed the rotor andprevent accumulation of dormant stock that interferes with normaloperation.

I claim:
 1. An improved apparatus for loading feed stock intoagricultural bags, said apparatus having a hopper with a sloping rearwall and a rotor rotatably mounted at the terminal portion of the rearis wall in the hopper for moving stock introduced at an inlet portion ofthe hopper in a first direction toward said agricultural bag, theimprovement comprising:conveyor means within said hopper and lyingadjacent said sloping rear wall, said conveyor means lying parallel toand spaced from said rotor for conveying stock in said hoppertransversely to the first direction to evenly distribute the incomingstock across the width of the hopper and to prevent mounding of thestock that might cause an uneven distribution of stock over the rotor.2. The improved apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said conveyormeans comprises a screw-type member rotatable about an axissubstantially parallel to the rotational axis of the rotor.
 3. Animproved apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the rotational axis ofthe rotor is above the rotational axis of the screw-type member.
 4. Theimproved apparatus according to claim 2 wherein means interconnect saidrotor and conveyor means so that said conveyor means rotates in responseto rotation of the rotor.
 5. The improved apparatus according to claim 2wherein said screw-type member has peripheral spirals with oppositetwists so that stock is conveyed in opposite directions by said conveyormeans.